Saturday, November 9, 2013 — Looney Qs

Introduction

In today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon, we once again have a puzzle with no apparent theme, other than an abundance of Qs. After encountering several of them, together with X, Y and Z, I thought that this might be a pangram — a puzzle in which every letter of the alphabet appears at least once in the solution. However, in the end, it fell somewhat short of being one. We do have another appearance this week by the cartoon character we saw in the previous puzzle, this time hunting ducks rather than wabbits.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue

Across

1a   SQUAB|BLED — SQUAB (young pigeon) + BLED (ran)

6a   PIQUE — double definition; "cotton fabric; piqué" & "ruffle; provoke"

9a   ME(D)AL — final letter (at last) of founD contained in (in the middle of) MEAL (†)

10a   SPEARMINT* — anagram (odd) of PERMITS AN

11a   CUR(RAN)T — RAN (smuggled; as in "rum runners") contained in (in) CURT (short)

12a   MALCOLM* — anagram (strangely) of CALL MOM

Malcolm X^[5] (1925–1965) was an American political activist; born Malcolm Little. He joined the Nation of Islam in 1946 and became a vigorous campaigner for black rights, initially advocating the use of violence. In 1964 he converted to orthodox Islam and moderated his views on black separatism; he was assassinated the following year.

13a   GROTESQUE* — anagram (twisted) of TORQUES EG

15a   _QUE|ST_ — hidden in (in the middle of) DubuQUE STreet

Dubuque^[5] is an industrial and commercial city in northeastern Iowa, on the Mississippi River; population 57,250 (est. 2008). Google Maps identifies a Dubuque Street in each of the following American communities: Manchester, NH; Rensselaer, NY; Iowa City, IA; Davenport, IA; and Oceanside, CA.

16a   ELM|ER — ELM (tree) + ER (expressed hesitation; sound expressing hesitation)

Daffy Duck^[7] is an animated cartoon character produced by Warner Bros. He has appeared in cartoon series such as Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, where he usually has been depicted as the best friend and occasional arch-rival of Bugs Bunny. Elmer Fudd^[7] is a fictional Looney Tunes cartoon character who, when not hunting wabbits, is hunting ducks.

18a   A|C|TRESSES — A (†) + C ([Roman numeral for] hundred) + TRESSES (locks)

20a   TOR(MEN)T — MEN (guys) contained in (in) TORT (civil suit)

22a   BANNERS — double definition; "people who disallow" & "flags"

24a   AL(EX HALE)Y* — anagram (awkwardly) of LAY containing (absorbing) EXHALE (blow)

25a   I|NAP|T — T (time) following (after) {I (†) + NAP (sleep)}

26a   E(QUA)L — QUA (as; in the capacity of) contained in (into) EL (raised train; especially in Chicago)

27a   S(QUEEG)EES — QUEEG (psychotic captain) contained in (placed among) SEES (dates)

Captain Queeg (Lieutenant Commander Philip Francis Queeg) is a character in the Second World War novel The Caine Mutiny^[7] by American author Herman Wouk. Queeg is captain of the USS Caine, a destroyer minesweeper. In the story, the ship's executive officer, Lieutenant Stephen Maryk, determines that he must relieve the captain of command on the grounds of mental illness in order to prevent the loss of the Caine. However, the captain is found to be sane by three Navy psychiatrists and Maryk is tried by court-martial for his actions.

Down

1d   SUMAC< — reversal of CAMUS (French author)

Albert Camus^[5] (1913–1960) was French novelist, dramatist, and essayist, closely aligned with existentialism. Notable works: The Outsider (novel, 1942), The Plague (novel, 1947), and The Rebel (essay, 1951). Nobel Prize for Literature (1957).

2d   UNDERGO* — anagram (in a bad way) of ONE DRUG

3d   BALL|A|DEER — BALL (blast) + A (†) + DEER (popular game [animal])

4d   LISZT~ — sounds like (for the audience) LIST (menu)

Franz Liszt^[5] (1811–1886) was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He was a key figure in the romantic movement; many of his piano compositions combine lyricism with great technical complexity, while his twelve symphonic poems (1848–58) created a new musical form.

5d   DREAMIEST* — anagram (lousy) of ARTS I DEEM

6d   PER|I|L — PER (a pop; for each) + I (†) + L (left)

7d   QUI(XO)TE — {X (kiss) + (and) O (hug)} contained in (in the grip of) QUITE (very)

Don Quixote^[5] is the hero of a romance (1605–15) by Cervantes, a satirical account of chivalric beliefs and conduct. The character of Don Quixote is typified by a romantic vision and naive, unworldly idealism.

8d   EST(IM)ATES — IM (I'm) contained in (surrounded by) ESTATES (grand homes)

13d   {GREAT DANE}* — anagram (trashed) of TEA GARDEN

14d   QUARTILES* — anagram (crazy) of QUILTS ARE

15d   {QUEEN-SIZE}* — anagram (bad) of SQUEEZE IN

17d   {MAR|CEAU}~ — sounds like (so to speak) {MAHER (†) + SO (†)}

Bill Maher^[7] (pronounced MAR) is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, satirist, author, and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect, originally on Comedy Central and later on ABC.

Marcel Marceau^[5] (1923–2007) was a French mime artist. He is known for appearing as the white-faced Bip, a character he developed from the French Pierrot character.

19d   SEE|PAGE — SEE (notice) + PAGE (sheet)

21d   _E|THE|L_ — hidden in (keeps) strangE THE Lad

22d   B(A)YOU — {B (bee) + (leading) YOU (†)} containing (around) A (†)

23d   SITES~ — sounds like (orally) CITES (alludes to)

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon